It was disappointing watching Vikram; too much hype was created over social media

Perhaps my OTT watching would have been the reason for the disappointment. Had I watched the movie in a Big screen theatre ambiance, my cup of disappointment would have been non-existence. Instead, I would have been on a roll, singing hosannas to Kamal like others. Maybe…

By Ramesh Kumar

I was disappointed watching Vikram, the actor par excellence’s latest blockbuster from Kamal Hasan. I have seen the maiden Vikram on VCR in a Bombay suburb in the early 1980s. Those memories are fleeting, except many said it was far ahead of their time.

Watching the latest Vikram, except for the title, there is no link between the two. It is not a sequel. Period.

The reason for my disappointment was the hype created over social media about this original Tamil-dubbed flick in multiple languages, including Hindi.

Given the algorithmic charlatans of Facebook, Youtube, Google, etc., you’re bombarded with more inputs about a subject you’ve searched just once.

I made that mistake by googling Vikram a few weeks before the movie was released. Most of these postings, with a shipload of arrogance, announced that Vikram would easily out beat the recent southern successful movies such as KGF 2 and KRK – originals in Kannada and Telugu, respectively. Still, they dubbed in other south Indian languages and Hindi to capture the Hindi film fans. They raked in tonnes and tonnes of money. In my reckoning, both were gigantic in scale but failed to wow.

The build-up

Honestly, one felt the build-up was excessive for Vikram. Yet, who knows what’s in store. Moreover, the young director Lokesh Kanagaraj was the toast of the Tamil film world and a fan of the multiple-award-winning Kamal. All of Kanakraj’s films in Tamil were successful. I have never seen any of his movies. So, I have no idea.

Without exception, film critics – I am talking about the respectable ones, a rare breed – went overboard in the pre-release interviews with all and sundry associated with the film. Kamal undertook a world tour – Malaysia, that is – besides touching down at every major Indian city promoting the film. In the run-up, Kamal got the movie’s trailer released at the Cannes 2022 Film Festival. So, I was hooked by this mega PR drive.

Now to the film. Besides Kamal, the cast was marvelous. Fahad Fasil, a Malayalam actor of repute, had the lion’s share in the movie and conceded to everyone. Vijay Sethupathi, another brilliant Tamil actor with a huge fan following for portraying meaty roles in several movies, was the villain. Incidentally, Fahad and Vijay were together in another excellent Tamil movie, SuperDeluxe, though they have not shared the screen space. It was a hit film.

Excellent cocktail of talent

So, Kamal-Faahad-Vijay was an excellent cocktail of talent. The entire first half belongs to Fahad, the crack team sent by higher-ups in the police department to clean up the mystery behind the murder of several police officers. Kamal appears a few minutes before the intermission. Still, Faahad held the fort comfortably.

Vijay is the local drug lord who creates havoc in cohorts with some corrupt police officials. Kamal, shown being killed in a bomb blast in the early part of the film, is not dead. He, like a ghost, vows to fight the drug culture. Of course, his son, a police officer, is killed by the police-druglord gang to escape exposure.

The second half, out and out, is Kamal’s territory. Though the first half has a good amount of violence, the second half is full and full of violence. Gory at that. The kind of revolvers, guns, and explosives you have seen in foreign action thrillers are on full display. You’ve guessed it correctly, for use by Kamal to safeguard his grandson and finish off the drug empire along with the corrupt police officials.

Yes, you watch the movie for close to three hours. The smallest characters are etched deftly.

Dampening factor

Yet, you feel you have not got the paisa vasool impact. Is the non-appearance of Kamal for half the movie a dampener? Dunno.

Before you recover from the tat-a-tat and boom boom climax battle between Kamal-Faahad and team on the one side and Vijay on the other deploying all kinds of battlefield weaponry with ear drums damaged with the sound and fury, the brutal beheading of a junior sidekick by maha druglord Rolex is too much. You almost puke.

A lot was said about the musical score by Anirudh Ravichander, the “kola veri” fame. Not a single song remains etched at the end of the movie. Ilayaraja’s 1980 original Vikram songs are still fresh in memory. Did Kamal ‘mischoose’ on the musical front? I think so.

The Vikram saga has not ended. A sequel is very much on the cards. Possibly, pitting Rolex against who else but Kamal. Same director. The new National Best Actor award winner Suriya as Rolex. More gunnery, 100% sure.

Perhaps my OTT watching would have been the reason for the disappointment. Had I watched the movie in a Big Screen theatre ambiance, my cup of disappointment would have been non-existence. Instead, I would have been on a roll, singing hosannas to Kamal like others. Maybe.

Sure Vikram made tonnes of money for Kamal’s home production. His generosity towards the crew with lavish gifts for enabling his re-entry after Vishwaroopam 2 in 2018 with a super-duper hit.

Now I am waiting for the Kamal I cherished in another film. Will it be Indian2? or Sabaash Naidu?

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The author is a seasoned business and economic journalist. He can be reached at konsultramesh@gmail.com. In this column, ‘Business Monitor’, he presents a global perspective on happenings in the world of business, commerce, economics and trade. The views are the author’s own and The News Porter bears no responsibility for the same.